Transcriptome analyses of the cortex and white matter of focal cortical dysplasia type II: Insights into pathophysiology and tissue characterization.

Introduction: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a common cause of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. According to the 2022 International League Against Epilepsy classification, FCD type II is characterized by dysmorphic neurons (IIa and IIb) and may be associated with balloon cells (IIb). We present a multicentric study to evaluate the transcriptomes of the gray and white matters of surgical FCD type II specimens.

Junctional instability in neuroepithelium and network hyperexcitability in a focal cortical dysplasia human model.

Focal cortical dysplasia is a highly epileptogenic cortical malformation with few treatment options. Here, we generated human cortical organoids from patients with focal cortical dysplasia type II. Using this human model, we mimicked some focal cortical dysplasia hallmarks, such as impaired cell proliferation, the presence of dysmorphic neurons and balloon cells, and neuronal network hyperexcitability.

Toward a better definition of focal cortical dysplasia: An iterative histopathological and genetic agreement trial.

Objective: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a major cause of difficult-to-treat epilepsy in children and young adults, and the diagnosis is currently based on microscopic review of surgical brain tissue using the International League Against Epilepsy classification scheme of 2011. We developed an iterative histopathological agreement trial with genetic testing to identify areas of diagnostic challenges in this widely used classification scheme.

Methods: Four web-based digital pathology trials were completed by 20 neuropathologists from 15 countries using a consecutive series of 196 surgical tissue blocks obtained from 22 epilepsy patients at a single center.

An Overview of the Compounds Tested In Vivo for Leishmania spp. of the Last 5 Years.

Background: Leishmaniasis, a still important public health problem, exhibits environmental risk factors such as massive migrations, urbanization, and deforestation. WHO research for Leishmaniasis is mainly focused on the development of new tools, such as diagnostic tests, drugs, and vaccines. During the drug development strategy, only a few compounds were promising and call for further study after the in vitro and in vivo preclinical tests.

Dysregulation of NEUROG2 plays a key role in focal cortical dysplasia.

Objective: Focal cortical dysplasias (FCDs) are an important cause of drug-resistant epilepsy. In this work, we aimed to investigate whether abnormal gene regulation, mediated by microRNA, could be involved in FCD type II.

Methods: We used total RNA from the brain tissue of 16 patients with FCD type II and 28 controls.

Effects of different physical exercise programs on susceptibility to pilocarpine-induced seizures in female rats.

In epilepsy, the most common serious neurological disorder worldwide, several investigations in both humans and animals have shown the effectiveness of physical exercise programs as a complementary therapy. Among the benefits demonstrated, regular exercise can decrease the number of seizures as well as improve cardiovascular and psychological health in people with epilepsy. While many studies in animals have been performed to show the beneficial effects of exercise, they exclusively used male animals.

Translation and validation of the Brazilian version of the Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children - child report.

Objective: To verify the psychometric properties of the Cerebral Palsy: Quality of Life Questionnaire Children - child report (CPQol-Child) questionnaire, after it was translated and culturally adapted into Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: After the translation and cultural adaptation of the tool into Brazilian Portuguese, the questionnaire was answered by 65 children with cerebral palsy, aged 9-12 years. The intraclass correlation coefficient and Cronbach's alpha were used to assess the reliability and internal consistency of the tool and its validity was analyzed through the association between CPQol-Child: self-report tool and Kidscreen-10 using Pearson's correlation coefficient.